


imperfect, heroic

by HyperchaoticStarlight (MVPYurio)



Series: i'll be around for you [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (and boyfriend), Avengers Family, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Insecure Tony, M/M, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Scienceshipping, Team as Family, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-02 14:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15798540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MVPYurio/pseuds/HyperchaoticStarlight
Summary: Prompt from tonystark5ever on tumblr: “Bruce finds some old iron man drawings from kids and he shows them to tony to ask him about them and say how cute it is, but Tony gets kind of upset about it and after some very fluffy coaxing, he finds out tony doesn’t feel good about it since the whole mess with New York and Ultron and Bruce is so good to him and helps him see what a hero he is and they go see some of his little fans.”Thank you to witchlightsands/whichlights for helping me write this one!! –Lia





	imperfect, heroic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whichlights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/gifts).



> Prompt from tonystark5ever on tumblr: “Bruce finds some old iron man drawings from kids and he shows them to tony to ask him about them and say how cute it is, but Tony gets kind of upset about it and after some very fluffy coaxing, he finds out tony doesn’t feel good about it since the whole mess with New York and Ultron and Bruce is so good to him and helps him see what a hero he is and they go see some of his little fans.”
> 
> Thank you to witchlightsands/whichlights for helping me write this one!! –Lia

He was cleaning out the attic- who knew Tony even  _ had _ an attic? -when he found the box. It was open, just a bit, and Bruce went to look into it.

It was a bunch of drawings- not very professional ones. Kid doodles. All of them were of Iron Man in various heroic poses. Bruce almost laughed at one of Tony posing, showing off unrealistically muscled arms.

He picked up another, one where Tony was flying through the air—it looked a little bit nicer than some of the others, like an older kid drew it—and turned it over to see that the artist had written a little note on the back, thanking Tony, this and that and the other.

The box couldn't have had fewer than fifty drawings, and not a single one had been rumpled or messed up, but they had been left in the attic. Why would Tony keep something like this hidden away?

Bruce picked up the box, taking it downstairs with him. “Tony, check out what I found!” He called. Tony was a busy guy. Maybe a few forgotten drawings would brighten his day.

Tony put down his tablet and looked over. “Yeah? What is it?”

Bruce walked over and handed Tony the box. “I was poking around in the attic, and I found these.”

Tony opened the box and froze. His hands drifted over the scribble lines of a drawing of him in a spotlight.

"I had no idea that you had a box of fan mail," said Bruce, not quite noticing Tony's face. "They're really cute. We should frame them or something."

Tony said nothing, still staring at the drawing. "I'm gonna put these back," he said quietly. "It was nice of you to bring them down, but I'm putting these back."

It was then that Bruce realized Tony's unease. "Tony? Are you okay?"

“I’m… fine.” Tony slumped, sitting down. He looked at Bruce. “I don’t think I’m the hero these kids think I am.”

Bruce brought over another chair and sat down next to Tony, hugging Tony's shoulders. Tony halfheartedly patted Bruce's linked hands.

"Why?" Bruce asked quietly, resting his chin on Tony's shoulders.

“Too many things go wrong. Do you remember New York?”

"Just because the shit hits the fan a few times, doesn't mean you're not a hero," said Bruce. "I've seen JARVIS's research footage of you catapulting yourself into a wall the first few times you tried to make your suit fly, but that doesn't mean you're not a genius. And the fact that you don't get everything right, makes you a good role model for these kids."

“Ultron,” Tony said, and that was all he thought he needed to say.

"Okay, listen," said Bruce. "Ultron was a terrible, terrible decision. That is true. But, first of all, it was  _ our _ terrible decision, and second, we got two amazing new teammates because of it."

“But it resulted in Sokovia. And so many people died…”

"Hey. Let's go sit on the couch for this." Bruce gently tugged Tony up from his chair and led him to the couch.

As soon as they got to the couch, Tony collapsed into Bruce's arms, nuzzling against Bruce's shoulder.

"You're right," said Bruce. "People did die in Sokovia, and it did suck. Objectively. But it was Sokovia or the world. We did what we had to do."

“I just feel like I fail more than I succeed. That’s not the kind of hero kids should look up to.”

Bruce shook his head and held Tony closer to him. "Tony, sweetheart, that's  _ exactly _ the kind of hero kids should look up to. Think of it this way. How many times did you feel like you had to be perfect?"

"A lot..."

"And how badly did that fuck you up?"

Tony thought for a moment. "Oh."

"It fucked you up a lot, didn't it."

"Yeah. Yeah, it did."

"You're not perfect. No one ever is. Kids want a hero who isn't perfect- one that picks themselves back up after they fuck up. You're Tony Stark, and you always pick yourself back up."

Tony smiled softly, curling up into Bruce's arms a little more. "I try to keep going."

"And that, dearest, is something that you always succeed at." Bruce kissed the top of Tony's head, running his hand up and down Tony's arm. "I've never seen you back down from a challenge."

"You missed a lot," said Tony. "When you were gone—"

"Okay, almost always succeed at. Tony, it's okay. You're okay how you are."

“Promise?” Tony asked quietly.

Bruce tilted Tony’s head up to look at him, gently caressing Tony’s cheek. “I promise. And I think I have an idea.”

~~~~

“Hey everyone! Welcome to Avengers Tower!”

Wide-eyed kids wandered into the front door, accepting the high-fives that Pepper offered.

“This is amazing,” one small girl whispered.

“Glad you’re excited, kiddo,” said Pepper.

“Pep, I owe you big time for helping with this,” said Bruce, coming up next to her as she greeted a few more kids.

“You absolutely do,” said Pepper. “I’ll let you know what I want in exchange later.”

Bruce had decided to hold an open house for kids to come in and meet the Avengers (well, some of them—Sam and Rhodey couldn’t make it), and Tony had to admit, it was a pretty cool setup. Thor had placed his hammer down on a table and was letting kids try to pick it up. Wanda had something resembling a bouncy castle, where she used her levitation to gently toss kids around, and Peter had a sort of jungle gym where he dodged water balloons. Meanwhile, kids age ten and up were allowed to try their hand at some archery with Clint, or else go into a laser tag arena where they got to shoot at pretend HYDRA agents with Natasha.

As for Tony, Steve, and Bruce, they were mingling with the kids who weren’t doing activities, signing autographs when asked.

Tony’s mind began to wander a little, thinking about how excited the kids were. A few of them had already asked Steve for autographs, and one had tried to literally  _ climb  _ Bruce, but so far nobody had approached him.

Bruce’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Hey, it’s okay. He’ll talk to you. C’mere.”

He felt someone tapping at the metal on one of his arms, a very light touch, and he turned around.

“Hey there,” he said, looking down at a girl, maybe fifteen years old, in an Indigo Girls t-shirt. Her hair was in two braids, and she looked up at Tony with dark, shining eyes. “What’s your name?”

“Katie,” she said. “You’re my favorite Avenger.”

“Oh, really?” Tony asked.

“You’re kinda stupid sometimes,” said Katie. “Even though you’re really smart, you do really stupid stuff. Like me.”

Tony couldn’t help but crack a smile and took off his helmet so Katie could see his face. “Someone really, really smart was telling me something similar a few days ago.”

Katie grinned. “Who?” she asked, though her eyes sparkled in a most knowing fashion.

Tony extended his hand towards Bruce, and Bruce walked over and took it. “This guy right here,” said Tony. “I’m guessing you didn’t come up to me looking for advice, but I’ll give it to you anyway, Katie. Find your person, alright? Find someone who’ll look out for you, and who’ll tell you the truth about how the world is and about you. Alright?”

“Okay,” said Katie. “Hey… can I see your lab? I’m really interested in the science you do.”

Tony smiled. “Of course. Come with us.”

Steve could hold the fort for a little while.

**Author's Note:**

> This series is brought to you by Lia (she/her, HyperchaoticStarlight) and James (they/them, TheMagicMicrobus). We try to update about every 2 weeks. However, we are both students (Lia is in college; James is in high school), and so we cannot promise perfection.
> 
> Find Lia on Tumblr @ hyperchaoticstarlight, marvel-at-these-gays, scienceshipping, and tinytonys.  
> Find James on Tumblr @ themagicmicrobus and morethanhumantogether.
> 
> If you have ideas for this series, please feel free to reach out to one of us and we will consider putting it in!


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